Sheet feeder for printing presses



B. C. WHITE SHEET FEEDER FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed April 18 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 1 HUHHHII ill! m1 Hi; M #1 llll MilllElilHllll 2 79gvwamioz Bruce, 6.

Aug. 31 1926. 1,597,941

B. C. WHITE I SHEET FEEDER FOR PRINTING PHESSES Filed April 18, 19223'Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 31 1926. 1,597,941

B. C. WHITE SHEET FEEDER FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed April 18. 1922 '3Sheets-Sheet 5 WW! II I 02? gs} 5 4 :i; L T

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrica.

33170] C- warm. You, N. Y-; MARIA LOUISA warm mourn: or am BRUCE C.WHITE, DECEASED.

can! HEIDI! FOR PRINTING P3388158.

Application alt-a April 1a. 1022. Serial No. mace.

The present invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism for printingpresses, being intended more particularly for application to multicolorprinting presses in which 6 a rotary sheet carrier is arranged topresent the sheets to multiple printing couples each having a pluralityof impression surfaces adapted for printing in separate colors,

presses of this general type being shown and described in the UnitedStates Patent No. 538,852, dated May 7, 1895.

The present invention relates more especially to the means for feedingto the carrier the sheets to be printed, and it has for an object toprovide means for automatically feeding or transferring the sheets froma stationary support to the rotating carrier.

More particularl the invention has for its object to provi ean improvedtransfer device whichwill receive the sheet while remaining at rest anddeliver it to the carrier at a speed corresponding with that of thecarrier, or the printing speed.

The invention further includes certain details of construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter set forth.

F or further cpmprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly pointedout.

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a fragmentary side view of a printing pressshowing one set of printing couples only, with the present inventionapplied thereto, the support-' ing frames being omitted. Fig. 2 is anend view thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, illustratingparticularly the driving means for the gripper operating cam. Fig. 4 isa horizontal sectional view taken sub stantially along the axis of thefeed sheet transfer drum.

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse sectional View taken along the line 5-5 ofFig. 4..

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating particularly themanner in which the sheet is delivered from the transfer element or feeddrum to the carrier.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have indicated generally at'lO'a portion ofthe sheet carrier which may comprise the usual pair ously referre ofrings between which extend the gripper bars 11, carrying suitable sheetpreferably of the type shown and escribe m my coendin .a' plicationfiled August 28, 1924, erial o. $34,666.

Further illustration or description of the general features ofconstruction of the sheet 50 carrier is not deemed necessary as it ma beof the tyse shown in the patent previto. The sheet carrier or carrierring 10 feeds the sheet in the ordinary manner between the usualprinting couples composed of impression and plate cylinders, only one ofthese couples being here shown, the impression cylinder being indicatedat 15 and the plate cylinder at 16. These cylinders are of ordinarconstruction, the former being shown with the usual grooves 15 forreceiving the connections for the removable impression facings, and thelatter with grooves 16 for clearing the ripper bars'11. These cylindershave fixed t ereto the usual meshing gears 15 and 16 whereby they arecaused to rotate in unison, fragmentary portions only of these gearshave been indicated in Fig. 1. The sheets tobe rinted are placed on aninclined feed boar 17 located at one side of the carrier ring and spaceda short distance therefrom.

As here shown the rotary transfer element comprises a segmental drummade up of a number of disk segments 18, provided with suitable sheetgripping devices, and fixed to and spaced along a horizontal shaft 19which extends across the face of the carrier ring and is suitablyjournaledin the side frame members 20, the drum being positioned to haveits periphery meet tangentially the path of the sheet su portingelements of the carrier ring. his drum is driven at the same generalrate of rotation as the cylinders 15 and 16, or in other words turn forturn of the latter, although the drum does not rotate continuously at agiven speed as do the cylinders.

The means which I have designed to drive the drum in a manner to permitof desired variation of speed during individual revolutions comprises aplanetary gear 22 fixed on one end of the drum shaft 19 and whichreceives motion from a surrounding internal gear 23 through the mediumof a pair of pinions 24 which mesh with said gears 22 ipper?i 55 I and23 and are adapted to be shifted bodily in addition to their, rotarymovement, it being understood that the gear 22 can be made to standstill, or to move at increasing or decreasing velocities, by imparting aproper bodil traveling movement to the pinions 24 The internal gear 23may be driven in such manner as' may be convenient, being here shown asprovided with external gear teeth 25 meshing with. a pinion 26 fixed onone end of a shaft 27 parallel to shaft 19 and havin a gear 28 on itsopposite end which mes es in turn with the gear 15 fixed to theimpression cylinder 15, the relative proportions of the various gearsbeing properly calculated to make the drum 18 travel at the same uniformrate of rotation as that of cylinder 15 while. the pinions 24 arerotating about their axes temporarily fixed. The internal gear 23 issupported for loose rotation on the shaft 19 and is here shown in theform of a rin fixed by the screws 30 on the face of a d1sk 31, the hubthereof being enga d at one end by the collar 31 fixed on s aft 19 andon the opposite end positioned by the gear 22.

To provide for the shifting of the pinions 24 they are here shown asmounted on the opposite ends of an oscillatory lever 33 looselyfulcrumed between its ends on the shaft 19. To oscillate this ,lever inthe proper manner I mount on the shaft 34 of the plate cylinder 16 adisk cam 35 having a cam groove 36 in the face thereof. In this ooveengages a roller 37 mounted on the ower end of a link 38, the upper endthereof being pivotally connected to the lever 33. To guide the lowerend of the link 38 I connect it to an arm 39 pivoted as at 40 to theframe of the machine. The cam 35, as will he understood, rotates turnfor turn with the drum. 18.

The sheets to be transferred to the carrier ring are taken by the drumwhile the latter is at rest from the inclined feed board 17 which may beof ordinary construction, and which has its forward end located abovethe drum 18 and in close proximity to the periphery thereof. The drum 18is brought to rest with the leading ends of its segments just in advanceof the forward end of the feed board 17. The forward edge of the sheetwhich is projected from the feed board 17 onto these segment ends isclamped against the latter by the rearwardly turned ends 46 of thegripper fingers 47 of which there is one on each segment. These fingers47 extend in a general radial direction and are pivotally connected attheir inner ends to arms 48 fixed on a shaft 49 carried by the drum 18and extending parallel to the shaft 19 around which it swings as thedrum rotates. Connected to the fingers 47 near the outer ends thereofare short guiding and supporting links 50 which are connected to thedrum segments 18. By suitably oscillatinfi shaft 49 the grippers areopened and close at the desired time. This oscillatory movement of shaft49 is obtained from a cam 52 loosely mounted on the o posite end ofshaft 19 to that on which tie internal gear ring 23is carried and havinga cam groove53 in which en ages a roller 54 carried on the arm 54* fixedto the shaft 49. This cam 52 is adapted to rotate in a directionopposite to that of the shaft 19 and at an equal. rateof revolutionstherewith, being here shown as fi-xed on a gear 55 which is loose on theshaft 19 and meshing with a pinion 56 fixed on the opposite end of shaft27 to'that on which the pinion 26 is fixed, the loose gear 55 bein heldin osition on its shaft by the col ar 55. t incc the cam 52 rotates. atequal turns and in opposite direction with the drum 18, it follows thatthe roller 54 will travel twice around the groove 53 for each rotationof the drum, causing a double operation of the gri pers with eachrevolution ofthe cam.

This double operation of the grippers, however, is not objectionalsince, as shown in Fig. 5, the drum only travels through an arc of aboutninetv degrees between its sheet receiving and sheet delivering points.Fig. 5 also shows the position in which the sheet has just been grippedby the fingers 47, the latter being held in closed position byengagement of the roller 54 in the concentric portion 53 of the groove53 which extends through approximately one hundred and eighty degrees.As will be ap arent, when the roller 54 reaches the end 0 thisconcentric portion the drum 18 will have traveled substantially ninetydegrees, or to the point at which the grippers are to be released, theremainder of-the groove 53 being suitably formed to open-and close thegrippers at the proper time. As the rotation of the gripper-operatingcam 52 is continuous it will be clear that these gripper fingers 47 willoperate to grip the leading edge of the sheet while the drum is at restand thus avoid disturbing the register of the sheet. The detaildescription of these grippers is more particularly set forth in myco-pendi'ng application filed August 28, 1924, Serial No. 734,667.

Also the sheet grippers which I prefer to employ on the carrier ring areof the type illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 and which also form thesubject matter of a separate patent application. These grippers eachcomprise a finger 60 fixed to the inner face of the bar 11 andprojecting rearwardly therefrom, and a co-operating movable finger61,-hinge'd to the finger 60 a short distance from the rear endof thelatter. The

finger 61 is ofangular shape as seen 1n side view and has connectedvthereto between its ends one end of a link 62 whose opposite endconnects to a short arm 63 fixed to a rock shaft 64 extending along, andsuitably journaled in the bar 11. Pivotally connected to the movablefinger 61, co axially to the point of connection of link 62 ,'.-.is theheaded end of rod '65, whose opposite end is guided in a bracket 66fixed to the bar 11.. A coiled expansion spring 67, which surrounds therod 65 and bears between the bracket 66 and the head of the rod,normally urges the movable finger 61 to closed osition. This finger isopened by a cam. not shown) which is operatively connected to a shaft 64in the usual manner. This construction is designed to ensure of anindependent gripping action of each finger on the sheet, the movablefinger 61 being inwardly urged to clamping position by its spring,sufficient loss motion being provided, preferably at the opposite endsof link 62, to allow the necessary individual spring action of thedifferent fingers along the bar 11. The relative position of thegrippers of the feed drum 18 with respect to those of the carrier ring10 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 at the point or line of sheettransfer, indicated by the broken line 68 passing through the axialcenters of the drum and ring,.and at which point the grippers of the.ring close slightly in advance of the release of the drum grippers toinsure at this point constant engagement with the sheet withoutpossibility of-displacement of the latter, Fig. 6, showing in largerscale the said relative position of the grippers at the transfer line.the dotted lines indicating the drum grippers.

eferring again to the cam 35 by means of which the pinions 24 arebodilymoved, the precise shape of the cam grooves depends on therelative diameters of the drum 18 and the impression cylinder 15, thegeneral principle involved being that at times when the pinions 24 arebodily moving in the direction of rotation of the driving gear 23, thedriven gear 22 will rotate at proportionally less speed than when thepinions are held stationary, and when the latter are moving bodily in anopposite direction a proportional increase will be made in the rotationof the drum gear 22. While a single pinion 24 on the lever 23 willeffect the desired movement, a pair of pinions arranged as shown tobalance the respective gear thrusts are preferably employed.

"As herein shown, the diameter of the cylinder 15 is substantiallygreater than that of the feed drum 18, and as it is desired in thetransfer movement of the sheet to gradually increase the peripheralspeed of the drum from a point of rest up to that of the carrier ring10, and to uniformly maintain the latter speed until the rear end of thesheet leaves the drum and passes to the carrier ring, it will be obviousthat the groove in the cam 35 must be correspondingly shaped to bodilymove the inions 24 in a direction opposite to that o the driving gear 23until the latter position of the sheet has been reached, after which,the bodily movement of the pinions are gradually reversed to correspondin direction with that of the driving gear until the drum has beenbrought to rest, the pinions uniformly continuing their bodily movementin this latter direction during the necessary period required for thedrum to rest for its engagement of a new sheet, it being obvious thatduring the period in which the drum is at rest the bodily movement ofthe pinions will be in a direction similar to that of the driving gear23, but at half the peripheral speed thereof.- i

For the engagement and support of the sheet in its transfer movement,the drum segments 18 with their connected gripper fingers 47 aresuitably spaced along the shaft 19, the spacing thereof being infairlyclose lateral relation with the carrier gripper fingers 60 fixed on thebars 11. At the transfer point the two sets of grippers pass each otherat a common rotative speed,

their relative positions allowing .for the necessary clearance betweenthe gripper-bar 11 of the carrier and the gripper fingers 47 of'the drumsegments,-the latter fingers being given an independent movement by thecam 52 to effect their clearance from the moving sheet. 1

\ As the operation of the various parts has been set out in detail andin the connections wherein they co-operate with each other it isbelieved a recapitulation of the entire operation is unnecesary. It isapparent, of course, that while I illustrate and describe the preferredembodiment of the invention it is susceptible of various changesas'regards its form, proportion, detail construction, application andarrangement of parts, without departing from the essential rinciple andscope or sacrificing any of t e advantages of the invention. Also, whileI have shown and described the feed drum 18 as being of particulaapplication to a carrier ring, it is to be understood that the drummay'with equal advantage be used to transfer sheets directly to theimpression cylinder of a printing couple.

WVhat I claim as my invention and 'desire' to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a printing press, printing devices arranged to print at a uniformrate of speed, a rotary transfer element having a series of sheetgrippers, and means for operating said grippers while said transferelement is at rest.

2. In a printing press, printing devices arranged to print at a uniformrate of speed, a feed board for the sheets to be printed, a rotarytransfer element adjacent thereto,

' sheet gri pers mounted on said transfer element, an means foroperating said grippers while said transfer element is at rest.

3. In a printing press printing devices arranged to print at a uni ormrate of speed, a rotary transfer element, a series of sheet gri perscarried thereby, a rock-shaft carri by said transfer element andoperatively connected to said grippers, and means for operating said roc-shaft while said transfer element is at rest.

4. In a printing press, printing devices arranged to print at a uniformrate of speed, a feed drum, means for variably rotating said drum, sheetgrippers carried by sai drum, and means. for operating said gripperswhile-said drum is at rest.

5. In a printing press, printing devices arran ed to print at a uniformrate of speed, a fee drum, driving means whereby said drum is brou ht torest, sheet ippers carried by said rum, and means or operating saidgrippers while said drum is at rest.

6. In a printing press printing devices arranged to rint at a uni ormrate of speed, a rotary fee drum, driving means whereby the rotativespeed of said drum may be increased from a state of rest to that of theprinting s eed and decreased from the printing speed ack to astate ofrest, sheet grippers carried by said drum, and means for operating saidgrippers during the periods in which said drum is at rest.

7. In a printing press, printing devices arranged to print at a uniformrate of speed, a rotary feed drum, drivin means whereby the rotativespeed of said rum may be increased from a state of rest to that of theprinting speed, then maintaining said latter speed during the deliveryof the sheet from said drum, then decreasing said rotative speed back toa state of rest, sheet grippers carried by said drum, and means foroperating said grippers during the periods in which said drum is atrest.

8. In a printing press, a feed drum including a rotatively mountedsupporting shaft therefor, sheet grippers carried b said drum, a wheelloosely mounted on sai shaft, means for variably rotating said shaftbetween periods of rest, means for'continuously rotating said looselymounted wheel, and means carried by said wheel for operating saidgrippers during the periods of rest.

9. In a printing press, a feed drum including a rotatively mountedsupporting shaft therefor, sheer grippers carried by said drum, a wheeloosely mounted on said shaft, means for variably rotating said shaftbetween periods of rest, means for continuously rotating said looselymounted wheel in an opposite direction from that of said shaft, andmeans carried by said wheel for operating said grippers during theperiods 0 rest.

10. In a printing press, a series of printing devices having means foradvancing a sheet thereto, a feed drum, sheet 'ippers carried by saidfeed drum, means or variably rotating said feed drum between penods ofrest means for operating said 1ppers during the periods in which the gumis at rest, and means for operating said grlppers to transfer a sheetfrom said drum to the sheet advancing means of said printmg devices.

11. In a printing press, a plurality of prmtlng couples, means foradvancing a sheet thereto, a feed drum for said sheet advancing means,sheet grippers carried by sald drum, means for operating said grippersto engage a sheet while the drum is at rest, and means for deliveringthe sheet said drum to said sheet advancing means at a common speedtherewith.

12. In a printing press, a rotary sheet transfer element adapted toremain at rest for a tlme during a revolution to receive the sheet, asheet gripper device carried thereby, and means for operatin said sheetgripper device, said means inclu ing a cam mounted co-axially with saidtransfer element and rotating turn for turn therewith in an oppositedirection.

13. In a printing press, a driving shaft, a transfer drum including acentral shaft for the rotative support thereof, grippers mounted on saiddrum, a rock-shaft carried by said drum and operatively connected tosaid grippers, a cam loosely mounted on said central shaft and operatingsaid rock shaft, gearing mounted on said central shaft and engaged bysaid driving shaft for effecting a forward variable rotative movement ofsaid drum, and means actuated by said driving shaft for effecting acontinuous backward rotation of said cam.

14. In a printing press, a feed drum having a rotatively mountedsupporting shaft, and an operatively mounted planetary gear devicecarried by said shaft whereby the rotative speed of said drum may begradually increased from a state of rest to that of the printing speedand decreased back to the state of rest.

15. In a rinting press, a feed drum having a rotatively mountedsupporting shaft, and an operatively mounted planetary gear devicecarried by said shaft whereby the rotative speed'of said drum may begradually increased from a state of rest to that of the printing speed,said latter speed being maintained during the delivery of the sheet, andthen decreased back to the state of rest.

16. In a printing press, a feed drum having a rotatively mountedsupporting shaft,-

and an operatively mounted planetary gear device carried by said shaftwhereby the latter may be variably rotated.

17. In a printing press, a feed drum havgear and said fixed gear, andmeans for oscillating said rock arm.

Signed at New York in the county of New 10 York and State of New Yorkthis 4th day of April A. D. 1922.

BRUCE 0. WHITE.

